The Lucas-Heaton Letters - Loudoun Museum

In December of 1829, nine members of the Lucas family of Loudoun County left Northern Virginia for Hampton Roads, where they boarded a brig bound for the western coast of Africa. Two of the men, Mars and Jesse Lucas, had recently been emancipated by Albert and Townsend Heaton of Loudoun County. The two sets of brothers began a years-long correspondence about family back home in Loudoun and the challenges of life in Liberia. Seven of those letters are in the Loudoun Museum in Leesburg, Virginia. What follows are excerpts (and links to copies of) the letters, the locations mentioned within them, and a little about the events that led the Lucas family and other emancipated people to move across the Atlantic for a new life. PLEASE NOTE: To read this Story Map, use the page navigation on the bottom left side of your screen. For pages with more content than may be viewable on your display, either use the mouse scroll wheel or click anywhere on the left side of the page and use the down arrow.